LOS ANGELES WHEN IT WAS “THE CITY OF VINES,” By Mrs. A. S. C. Forbes

"In 1829 or 1830, Jean Luis Vignes, a native of Bordeaux, France, came to Los Angeles to make his home. He secured 104 acres of land facing the present Aliso Street and extending to the river, and that he planted a vineyard. He named his place 'El Aliso,' from the stately old alder tree that graced the lot and shaded his wine cellars. This tree has been called a sycamore, but as the Spanish word for alder is aliso, and the Spanish word for sycamore is sicomoro, it would seem that the tree was an alder."